1 April 2009, in the Rotunda of the Winter Palace opened the exhibition Book Kunstkammer in the Hermitage from the collection of the Scientific Library of the State Hermitage Museum, the oldest museum library in Russia. The books presented at the exhibition differ from the traditional manuscripts and publications by their unusual form, size, cover design and binding of the inner book.

The exposition includes 128 books. The biggest book height-wise (93.5 cm) is a facsimile edition of the Charter of electing Mikhail Romanov for the reign that was published in 1904 in Moscow. The heaviest book (57.5 kg) is The Golden Book of Lotharingia published in 1893 in Nancy. The thickest book (the thickness of the inner book is 18.5 cm) is The Alphabetic Index to the Collection of Statutes and Decrees for 1913. The longest book (6.16 m) is a scroll-reproduction, the copy of the famous medieval Normandy Bayeux tapestry, dedicated to the Norman conquest of the Southern England.

Miniature publications (sizes from 2.5 to 5.8 cm) are presented by Orthodox and Muslim prayer books of the 17th - 20th century (the Church Calendar, the Gospel, the Koran) as well as by tiny books of secular content (Calendar for Ladies of 1812, photograph album of the end of the 19th century).

Peter Apian’s The Royal Astronomy of 1540 with the charts of astronomic instruments with movable paper components can be found at the exhibition. The Marine Calendar of 1886 includes a compass. Three toy-books from cardboard in a form of the British soldiers, officers and artilleryman are of special interest.

The ‘Eastern’ part of the exposition introduces various publications of the Koran and Torah, manuscripts, pleated books that came up to take the place of the scroll-books.

The books created by the artists and book art-objects deserve special attention.

It is the first time when the prayer book of the 18th century made by the French master of calligraphy F.-Ch. Gallond is presented at the exhibition.

The publications of the unusual construction, various book covers with decorations from beads, lacquer, enamel, watercolour drawing on papers, embroidery, fabric, bone, mother-of-pearl, birch bark and fur tell us about the art of books decoration. Other examples of books decoration are cases and articles for storing books such as chests, cabinets, highboys and boxes.

One of the exhibition parts represents publications with the samples of fabrics, laces, tulle, linen for military uniform, wood and carpet yarn.

The unique collection of books is complemented with the rarely exhibited pieces of small plastic and decorative and applied art of the 15th - 17th centuries made in the form of a book - a clock, a pen-stand, a flask, a medallion, a matchbox and a trinket, a pas and a purse, a box for letters and inkpots as well as trompe Poeils that were made in Holland during the first quarter of the 18th century presenting books in leather bindings with metal clasps.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by the State Hermitage Museum’s Publications.

The exhibition curator is Olga Zimina, deputy director of the Scientific Library of the State Hermitage Museum.

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Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, and Olga Zimina, Curator of the exhibition, at the opening of the exhibition

The Golden Book of Lotharingia (57.5 kg)

Catalogue of the exhibition

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